President’s visit marks new milestone in VN-Cambodia trade

Phnom Penh (VNA) – A state visit to Cambodia on June 15-16 made by Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang marks a milestone in the two countries’ two-way trade and investment, Khmer Times - one of the three English-language daily newspapers in Cambodia wrote on June 15.

President Tran Dai Quang’s visit will consolidate strong commitments and trust of Vietnamese investors in Cambodia, which helps increase investment flow to the country in the coming time, Khmer Times quoted Length Rithy, a representative from the Vietnamese Investment Association in Cambodia and President of the Vietnam Rubber Group in Cambodia.

Rithy said that Vietnam has poured billions of US dollars into Cambodia over the past two decades in the agro-industry sector, particularly rubber plantations.

According to statistics from the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, Vietnamese investments in Cambodia will total 6 billion USD by 2020, making Vietnam one of the largest foreign investors there.

Currently, Vietnam ranks fifth in investments in Cambodia, following China, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and the EU.

Rithy hoped that a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen would allow the two sides to address challenges facing Vietnamese businesses operating in Cambodia and discuss measures to support agricultural processing industry, especially natural rubber industry which is experiencing critical impacts of El Nino and the world’s rubber price decrease.

The newspaper also quoted David Van, managing director for Cambodia in Bower Group Asia, saying that the Cambodian Prime Minister needs to seek investment in spheres where the Vietnamese are familiar with, like agricultural business and the construction industry.

President Tran Dai Quang’s visit shows that Vietnam’s foreign policy prioritises relationship with neighbouring countries, Chheang Vannarith, Chairman of the Cambodian Institute for Strategic Studies (CISS) said, noting that bilateral relations in trade, defence, security and cultural cooperation will be top of the agenda for discussion.

“Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang's visit to the Kingdom augurs well for the bilateral relationship between the two neighbors,” he added.-VNA